Splash guard



May 2 1961 R. BEFFEI. v ,2,981,9@6 SPLASH GUARD Filed March 26. 1959 F Z E /5 INVENTOR.

' United States Patent 0 SPLASH GUARD Russell Belel, 6427 W. Moltke Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. i Filed Mar. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 802,246

3 Claims. (Cl. v15246) i This invention relates to a splash guard and more particularly to a separaterdevice adapted to be applied to any of the standard oor scrubbing, waxing and polishing machines some of which include'a liquid containing tank and one or more power driven oorrengaging brushes but are not provided with a splash guard.

Some manufacturers of the larger, more expensive iloor scrubbing and polishing machines have seen lit to embody splash guards as an integral part of their machines. However,the smaller, less expensive machines are not equipped with splash guards with the Vresult that the user of such a machine is called upon to expend considerable time and manual effort in removing cleaning or waxing materials;V

frombaseboards, walls and furniture which have been sprayed or splashed during the scrubbing or polishing operation. V v Y 1 In some instances, splash guards now in common use which have been formed as an integral part of thebody of the machine, comprise the actual support for the machine. In other instances, the splash guards forming an integral part of the machine have been telescopic or flexible in nature in an attempt to maintain the lower edge thereof in contact with the surface of the floor at all times. Many of these splash guards have been made of relatively thin flexible material which has been subject to wear and tear or early fatigue with the result that after a relartively short period of use the splash guard is no longer capable of accomplishing its intended purpose. Numer-v ous short comings have been found in a majority of instances where splash guards have formed an integral part of the oor maintenance machine.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provisionof a new and improved independent splash guard which is adapted for ready application to or removal from floor maintenance machines as the need may require.

Another object resides in the `provision of anew and improved' splash guard which may readily be applied as a protective means to machines which are not equipped with a splash guard.

Another object resides in the provision of a self-supporting splash guard positioned in a manner to surround the floor engaging portion or power driven brush of the machine to form a barrier to retain the scrubbing or polishing materials within the contines of the splash guard.

Another object resides in the provision of a splash guard of simple and sturdy construction including a form retaining metal ring on which a relatively stiff extruded form of synthetic material such as neoprene is mounted to form the new and improved splash guard.

Another object resides in the provisionof new and irnproved self-supporting splash guard adapted to surround the lloor engaging portion or power driven brush of the machine and having suicient weight to maintain itself in contact with the floor to preclude the throwing of liquid, from the power driven brush, beyond the contines of the splash guard and having sucient height to con- 2,981,966 Patented May 2, 1961 tain spray thrown from the rapidly rotating element of vthe machine.

A more specific object resides in the provisionof means for loosely `attaching the splash guard to the machine to preclude any material relative movement between the body of the machine and the splash guard.

Another specific object resides in the provision of means for loosely connecting the splash guard .to the machine in a manner to insure its movement with thatV of the machine.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawing: Y

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional door maintenance machine provided with splash guard shown in fragmentary elevation and constructed in ac cordance with the teachings of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the splash guard shown in Fig. l;

Y Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevational View of the splash guard showing a cut away portion thereof adapted 'to accommodate movement of the machine handle;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, showing means for retaining the assembled parts in proper cooperating relationship; and

` Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, showing a mounting means for the attaching cord.

Before entering into a detalied description of the present invention, it is deemed advisable to discuss the primary purpose of the device.

With the advent of terrazzo in homes, oflices, stores and similar buildings, the use of floor maintenance machines has increased materially. While the use of this lloor maintenance machine has provided a very eective means for maintaining floors in excellent condition, it has been found that the use of this machine has resulted in the requirement of considerable time and manual effort to remove stains and deposits of the scrubbing and polishing materials which were sprayed or thrown onto baseboards, walls and furniture surrounding or on the surface which has been scrubbed or polished. Frequently the time and labor consumed by this follow-up cleaning has deterred the use of these oor maintenance machines. This condition has been most prevalent in homes where rela-tively small scrubbing machines, which were not provided with splash guards, have been utilized. f

The present invention affords a simple and elfective device which may readily be applied to or removed from the iloor maintenance machine to afford adequate protection against the splashing or spraying of cleaning or polishing fmaterials beyond the connes of the splash guard.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the accom panying drawing, it will be noted that a splash guard 10 chosen for illustrative purposes, comprises a split metal ring 11 which is threadedly received and positioned in a longitudinally extending passage 12 formed in an enlarged lower portion 13 of a wall member 14. The wall member 14 is preferably made of synthetic material, in the formV of an extruded neoprene strip, provided with the passage 12 positioned parallel to and adjacent its lower marginal edge 15. The upper marginal edge of the wall member 1'4 is provided with a bead 16. The thickness of the wall 12 disposed adjacent the bottom marginal edge 15 of the guard with one end of the split metal ring 11 disposed within the passage 12 at one end of the member 14 to provide a socket for the receipt of the other end of the split metal ring 11 which protrudes beyond the other end of the member 14 of the splash guard 1t).

A portion of the upper part of the wall member 14 may be cutaway toform a relatively Wide slot 17 within which the operating handle and associated parts of the machine may be moved without engaging any portion of the splash guard 10.

After the exposed end of the split metal ring 11 has been inserted in Ithe socket formed by the opening 12, a metal strap 1S is applied to the outer surface of the enlarged lower portion 13 of the member 14 and suitable anchor-y is applied thereto. As the machine is moved across the surface to be cleaned or polished a portion of they machine will contact the inner surface of the semi-rigid upstanding wall 14 of the splash guard 10 to canse the splash guard A to move in unison with the machine. It should further be noted that the weight of the splash guard is of suicient A magnitude to retain the bottom marginal edge 15 thereof in constant contact with the floor surface to thereby form an effective seal to retain the cleaning or polishing material within the coniines of the splash guard. The upstanding semi-rigid wall 14 of the splash guard 10 serves to effectively preclude the splashing or spraying of the cleaning or polishing material beyond the confines of the splash guard.

In some instances, it may be found desirable to provideA a means for releasably retaining the splash guard in associated relationship with the machine. In order to accomplish this end, an upstanding plate 20 may be applied to the inner surface of the wall 14 of the splash guard and secured to the split ring 11 by means of anchoring screws 21. A grommet 22 is applied to the wall 14 of the splash guard and an aligned hole 23 formed in the plate 20 provides an opening in which one end of a cord 24 may be secured to the splash guard 10. The other end of the cord 24 may be tied to a portion of the handle of the machine to releasably retain the splash guard on the machine. When the splash guard is loosely attached to the machine, it will be apparent that relative rotating movement between the body portion of the machine and the splash guard is precluded.

From the foregoing description of the invention, it will be readily understood that a simple and effective splash guard have been provided which is readily adapted for application to or removal from a oor maintenance machine to confine the floor cleaning or polishing materials within the splash guard and preclude their being splashed or sprayed onto baseboards, walls or furniture which may surround or be on the surface being cleaned.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail in the foregoing specification it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its embodiment without departing from or sacrificing any of theadvantages hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A splash guard for independent removable positioning surrounding the floor contacting element of a floor maintenance machine, said splash guard comprising a form-retaining split metal ring encompassing an area greater than that of the machine to which it is applied, a body portion having a ring receiving passage slidably receivable over said form-retaining ring, said body portion including an unbroken lower marginal edge on which said splash guard is supported by the oor independently of the machine, and a peripheral wall on said body portion, said peripheral wall on said body portion being of suicient height to form a barrier around the lower portion of the machine, said lower marginal edge of said body portion cooperating with the floor to form a seal whereby the floor maintenance material used in the machine is retained Within the confines of said splash guard.

2. A splash guard for -independent removable positioning surrounding the floor contacting element of a oor maintenance machine, said splash guard comprising a form-retaining split metal ring encompassing an area greater than thatlof the machine to which it is applied, a body portion formed of semi-rigid material including a xring" receiving passage extending longitudinally of said body portion adjacent one marginal edge thereof, the

remainder of said body portion forming a wall extending upwardly when said form-retaining ring is inserted in said passage, a strap overlying the adjacent ends of said split ring, and anchoring means for retaining the housed ends of said split ring and said body portion in assembled relationship.

3. A splash guard, as set forth in claim 2, in which the body portion comprises a semi-rigid piece of material having an enlargedvlower marginal portion in which said split metal ring is housed to thereby insure the maintaining of the unbroken lower marginal edge of the body portion in sealing contact with the oor.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSV 1,581,824 Amsel et al Apr. 20, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 282,307 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1952 760,464 Great Britain Oct. 31, 1956 

